No obsidian mining for 2020 season
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Image: James St. John, Flickr
ALTURAS, Calif. - Warner Mountain obsidian is colorful, relatively easy to work and has been in high demand since time immemorial. Not only did local tribes collect, use and widely trade this obsidian for thousands of years, it is still an important cultural material to many tribal members to this day.
Courts found Warner Mountain obsidian to be a common-variety mineral in the 1970s, but mining areas had been heavily damaged prior to that time. Since then, the Forest Service has managed obsidian mining at four locations in the Warners to provide this “saleable mineral” for commercial purposes as well as a unique recreation opportunity.
More recently, commercial mining impacts have increased as overseas purchasers sought large quantities. This led to a number of unsustainable impacts to the resource, surrounding forest and nearby communities. Theft and illegal mining activities have increased substantially with evidence of heavy equipment, unauthorized roads, wildfire ignitions, unsafe mining practices, impacts on other forest users and an overall unsustainable removal of this non-renewable resource.
“We have the responsibility to insure this resource is available to tribal members for traditional cultural practices for generations to come and we appreciate providing this unique recreational activity for those who can use the resource sustainably,” said District Ranger Lisa Spahr. “We know it is a small percentage of users causing most of the issues, but the current situation has become unmanageable and we are forced to make the tough decision to put a moratorium on all collection until these issues can be addressed.”
Forest personnel are currently working with partners and stakeholders to identify the many concerns and effects. Many stakeholders agree the best course of action at this time is to temporarily discontinue all commercial and personal-use obsidian mining on the Modoc National Forest. This will allow the forest, Warner Mountain Ranger District, partners and communities to assess the situation and put plans into place for a more-sustainable program.
There will be no commercial or personal-use obsidian collection on the Modoc National Forest for the 2020 season, including at the four mines that had been set aside as community collection areas
Press release provided by the Modoc National Forest.